Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1887-09-09
THE LITTLE RED SPOT
That Puzzled the New York Doctor
and Gave World of Trouble 10
the Patient.


Enquirer; Mary Duncan. a married
woman about fifty years old, has been
an Intimate of the Bellevue Hospital
Tor nearly two years. She came to the
hospital with a supposed incurable dis
ease, the precise nature Of which had
never been thoroughly understood, al
though she had long been under the
care OF able physicians 1t looked like
one OF those cases which physicians are
called upon TO treat sometimes and
which they 60 at it in blind sert Of
way. cropping in the dark, rs 1t were.
with the disease never thoroughly UNI
derstood until an autopsy tells what q
grevious mistake they have made in It's
treatment.
The patient had little red spot ap-
pear on her right side many years ago.
IL was painful to the touch. but did not
seem to be associated with any cOnsti-
tutional disturbance. The patient en-.
joyed good health, the only trouble
be ne sickness at the stomach that
produced vomiting about once in six
weeks. The patient used plasters on
her side and took empirical remedies to
make the little red spot disappear. She
was more annoyed by the fact of its
existence than any evil effect that came
from it. and she swallowed barrels
Of blood purifiers to get rid Of it. But
THE RED SPOT CAME TO STAY,
And she gave up trying to do anything
for it.
Then it ran its course. 1t remained
in sort of embryonic state for years
and then little hard spot formed in
the center of the red place that devel-
oped into "A scab. This scab had only
a slight attachment and would fall off
at the least touch There would be a
flow of blood from the side for few
moments, and when this ceased anoth-
er scab would form. This condition
was kept up for long while and the
little spot became brighter red, and
ont Of hole that could scarcely be
seen by the naked eve there was dis
charge of a whitlsh fluid that speedily
turned into what appeared to be malig-
uant pus. This flow was constant,
night and day, and any position the
woman might place her body in had no
effect upon it.
The case was looked upon as remark
able. 1t was very difficult TO under
stand what internal disturbance there
could be which could maintain this dis
charge of pus without giving some ex-
ternal evidence Of its cause besides the
simple d scoloration of the skin. A
tunor would produce swelling. and
an abscess could not last so long with
out taking hold upon some of the in
tcrnal organs and causing death from
blood-poisonng.
a great many experiments were tried
upon the woman. Openings of small
size were made in the abdominal cavi-
ty below the place where the pus came
out, and drainage tubes were intro
,luced in the hope that the pus might
be turned from its natural course into
the artificial drain and give the open.
ng chance to heal. Not a particle
Of pus came through the drainage
tubes. and the flow from the side was
AS regular as ever. Then. again, the
opening was enlarged to about a half
nch aud hollow probe was inserted
about two inches. This was attached
to the bulb of syringe, and an at
tempt was made to pump out the reser-
voir of pus This was not successful.
and simply set up an external irrita-
ton.
A PLASTIC OPERATION WAS TRIED.
Pieces Of skin were taken from the
woman thigh and placed upon the
hole in the side after it had been made
raw by scrapng Every piece sloughed
away. 1t was tried separately. Then
flap was cut from the pat ent's fore
arm, the upper eud being left joined to
the arm and the other part of it was
put over the wound in the side. This
was putting live flesh upon the sore
spot and ewing 1t every possible chance
70 unite. The arm was held firmly in
position by strips of adhesive plaster
and bandages A close watch was
Kept upon the side, and it was seen
that there was cessation in the dis
charge of pus. Another drainage tube
was put below the wound. In about
TWO weeks the flap was cut loose from
he arm and an examination showed
that il had only adhered at one place
about two inches from the center of
The wound. and that the place where
! there was a unison was not over half
an inch in d diameter. This was too
slight to be of any use toward achiev-
ne the desired result and the flap was
torn away.
During all these experiments the pa
lient had been gradually growing
weaker. Hei vitality was being under
mined by the effort of nature to get rid